Picking and pruning attachment to be mounted on trucks



June 17, 1952 D. CARDIFF 2,601,092

PICKING AND PRUNING ATTACHMENT TO 'BE MOUNTED 0N TRUCKS Filed April 28. 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. IRA D. CARDIFF ATTORNEY June 17, 1952 D. CARDIFF 2,501,092

PICKING AND PRUNING ATTACHMENT TO BE MOUNTED ON TRUCKS s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28. 1951 \H A EL dll )0 \l 0 I H INVENTOR. IRA D. CARDIFF ATTORNEY I. D. CARDIFF June 17, 1952 PICKING AND PRUNING ATTACHMENT TO BE MOUNTED 0N TRUCKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 28. 1951 INVENTOR. IRA D. CARDI FF ATTORNEY Patented June 17', 1952 nemnemn iRUNINQAImAQnMENT BE MOUNTED QN TERUQKS -IraPD. Gardiff, Yakima, Walsh. Application April 28, mar-s ria ly): 223 497 40mins. ((lL' zmi--fiil) This invention relates. tovpicking and prumng attachments adapted to be mounted on ftruck beds.

The primary object of this inventionis to mount a multiple of platforms on atruek I bed upon which 'pickers stand while picking fruit "from fruit trees, said, platforms adapted to be extended from the truck into the branches of 'tr ees, -and adapted to be adjustable laterally relative td the tree while the picker is picking the fruit.

A still further object of the invention is toincorporate conveyors in connection with; the platforms so that the -empty boxes can; be delivered to the picker, and the full boxes delivered: irom the picker to unloading station upon the bed oi the'truck.

In carrying out the above ob-jects, the platforms are movably I mounted within sunporting braekets; the said supporting"brackets-being rotatably' mounted to' pedestals," the saidipedestals being supported by the bed'of the trunk. MQans is. provided-in connection'avith. each platform for v moving the same'into the branehes'ofj'the trees from the truck, orfmoving the sameaback to the of the trees and bran'chesj'bing generally indi ca'ted bybrok'en lines, taken on seotionfline I -"l of Figure zrevolved 90d'egre'es.

"Figure 2 is'a rear View of fthet'tutzkiixiid'yilat- 'forms, taken on line"2.l2- 'OffF i'gure 1.

Figure 3 is'a plan view'jof the truck andfplat forms, illustrating, the 'platiormslwithdia'wn from the trees and rotated to ajposition'overjthebed of the truck for movingthe same about.

Figure 4'is an enlarged 'refari view .ofioixe" Corner of the truckbed, illustratingjmore 'inldetail' the platform construction. View is 'takenori line 1-4 of -Figure 1. V

Figure 5 is an end; View ,offthe platform; taken is supported by] a. special, bracket-Which is rotatably mounted onra sunbo'rtingpedes'tal.

Figure 6 is a fragmentar plan: 's'dtidnalview, taken on line. B'6 Of Fi'lliifiLfDQ-ftsbrokniiway for conveniencejof illustration.

Figure 'lisa 'seetional'viemtaken on line 'l--l a of} Figure 5', illustrating ow, the bracket mounted 'tothe: pedestalsuppbrtsfthe platform.

Figure 8 is I-aAper'spective view of :the bracket 'i removed from the pmtform and pedestal; Y Other 1 p'artsalsobeingrm'oved.

ne fefring'mbre speci can to the drawings:

1 "have jiJIuStrated' aftr'uck l'lwith a flat b'ody footings. 6, which, are-bolted or otherwisejsejeured to ,'theplatfor 1n.

R'ferringl 'to Figures lan'd 2,1'Ihaveillustrated bracesj'by brokenfl es"v 1 forl'tieingjtheh upper ends important features .of the drawing (A Ispeeial 'b'raoket' 8, referring particularly to Figures15,: 6, Hand -8, is rotatablyimountedto thejpedestals 5 andfpositi'oned' thereonfbyialdjustable oollarsf. 9.

'The platforms ic'onsistiof booms '10,;as 'for inare. journalled mine stub-shaft. l3,nxed1y'mount- Thjise "trunnionwh'eels 'vv ill'supportf the'b' d in a longitudinal po on "re ardle s b ,t ep it o I of the boom", relativeto'fthefbracket' 8.

Walkways. lsvarefixedlyflmounted to the. upper surface of the booths} '10 and provide. support for jthef'piekerjwhilefpicking' theiruit. Roller eonve ors l1]. and ITA are'mounted to the walkway or platforms Iv -sup tin br c et 18, i are for meme-tens i 9. Empty boXesarepla-ced on the conveyor l1et120 from where"th'ey'roll'down 'over" the. conveyor to the; point ;2 I. The picker can 'rfeinove jthe boxes' ffrom ny point' along the eonveyor lwhen' fla number of f-boxes have been .ri qedfbnfthe.eonveyn the jpointizrwhere it isystopped 'in its-forward jmo'v'ementfby the upper ends 23 'Of'the brackets 18, from Where it will beremovedby a-workman located on the bed; ofthe truck, which willbe more 'fufllydesciibedlater.

' In order to move the 'platfoi'munits from the platform of the truck into the branches of the trees or return the same, a cable drum 24 is keyed to the shaft 25, which is journalled within suitable bearings within the bracket 8. A cable 26 is dead ended to the bracket 21 formin part of the boom [9, then wrapped about the drum 28 several turns and dead ended to the bracket 29 forming part of the boom H9 at 30. The drum 24 is revolved in either direction by the action of the rack 3| and the pinion 32. The rack 3| forms part of the piston rod 33 of the air cylinder 34, the said air cylinder is mounted to the platform 35 forming part of the bracket 8. The cable 26 is wrapped around the drum, which has non-slip grooves formed therearound, the cable is maintained taut by the springs 26A, further preventing slippage of the cable on the drum. v

An air control valve 36 receives its supply of air through the air supply line 31 from a tank and compressor not here shown, but it would be mounted somewhere on the truck. The valve 36 is of a design so as to deliver air from the supply line 31 to either the top or the bottom of the cylinder 34 by way of the manifolds 38. The said valve is operated by the lever 39 by way of an operating cable 40. The cable 40 runs throughout the length of the platform and is supported by the idler pulleys 4|, which in turn are supported from the platform by brackets 42.

The operating arm 39 is fixedly secured at 33 to one of the cable runs, and in operation the picker grasps the cable, moving it in the desired direction to control the valve admitting air into either the top or bottom of the cylinder 34,

which will govern the movement of the piston rod 33 and the rack 3|, pinion 32 and the cable drum 24. As the platform moves in either direction, the cable will remain stationary but running freely over the rollers l! without moving the arm 39.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be noted that I show platforms 44 mounted relatively low, while I show platforms 45 mounted relatively high. The object, of course, is to be able to pick the fruit from both the lowerpart of the tree and the uppermost part of the tree. The platforms are adjustable up and down by changing the positions of the supporting collars 9 on the pedestals 5.

In the operation of my new and improved picking or pruning platforms, the truck is driven between the rows of trees. In Figure 1 I illustrate the position of the trees by broken lines 49 and 41. The platform indicated by numeral 48 illustrates how the said platforms are projected into the confines of the tree branches. They can be withdrawn from the branches by the picker by simply grasping the control cable 40, moving the valve control lever 39 to the desired position to rotate the cable drum 28, which reels and unreels the cable 26, pulling the boom either in or out in relation to the truck or the tree.

The picker can grasp the branches of the tree and pivot the platform about the pedestals to any angle before entering the platform into the foliage of the trees. Each picker controls his individual platform. As stated before, as the fruit is picked the boxes are filled on the conveyor I1 and allowed to roll to the position 22. A workman can remove these boxes from the lower platforms 44 and place them on the trailer 3 without any means of elevation but from the upper platforms 45. He will probably have a lifting and lowering platform of any suitable conventional type, not here shown. He also places the empty boxes on the conveyor l'lA at the point 20.

In the operation of the platforms, there are four pickers working in half of each tree between which the truck is being operated, and as stated above, each picker is in control of the position of his individual platform.

By the use of my new fruit picking platforms, trained pickers can be employed who will put the fruit directly in the boxes on the platform, eliminating loss of the fruit by bruising and so forth in the packing operation. When the platforms are not being used for picking or pruning they r are withdrawn on to the truck as illustrated in Figure 3, making it a simple matter to transport the same over the highway or between the trees.

What I claim is:

l. A mobile fruit picker including a body platform, a standard mounted on the body platform, a rotatable bracket adjustably mounted on the body platform, including a horizontal guideway, a beam slidably mounted on the guideway, a walkway supported on the beam, a shaft mounted on the bracket, means carried by the bracket for operating the shaft, a drum on the shaft, a cable fastened at one end to the beam, thence around the pulley, and fastened at the other end to the opposite end of the beam, and means on the walkway extending the full length of said walkway to control the operation of the operating means.

2. A mobile fruit picker including a body platform, a nested series of standards mounted on the body platform, upper and lower brackets rotatably mounted on each standard, a slidable walkway mounted on each bracket, a pair of conveyors mounted on each walkway, means associated with each walkway to slide said walkway and conveyors toward and away from its supporting standard, and means extending the length of each walkway to control the sliding movement of the walkway, whereby the walkways can be extended from the body platform when in use or folded together longitudinally side by side on the body platform.

3. A mobile fruit picker, including a body platform, a standard mounted on the body platform, a rotatable bracket adjustably mounted on the body platform including a horizontal guideway, a beam slidably mounted on the guideway, a walkway supported on the beam, a shaft mounted on the bracket, a pinion on the shaft, a cylinder on the bracket, a piston rod operating in the piston and having teeth to engage the pinion, a valve to control the movement of the piston rod in the cylinder, a drum on the shaft, a cable fastened at one end to the beam, thence around the drum and fastened at the other end to the opposite end of the beam, and means on the walkway extending the full length of said walkway to control the valve to advance or retract the beam and walkway.

4. A mobile fruit picker, comprising a platform, a standard rising from the platform, a bracket adjustably vertically mounted and freely rotatable on the standard, a cylinder mounted on the bracket, a piston rod operating in the cylinder, the piston rod having a series of teeth, a shaft mounted in the bracket at right angle to the piston rod, a pinion on the shaft meshing with the teeth on the piston rod, a drum on the shaft, a valve having a handle, a beam and Walkway slidably mounted in guides formed in the bracket, a cable attached at one end of the beam,

5 6 thence trained around the drum and secured at REFERENCES CITED 1ts opposlte end to the opposlte en of the beam The following references are of record in the a pair of spaced-apart conveyors supported on file of this patent: the walkway, the lower conveyors inclining outwardly and downwardly from the standard and 5 UNITED sTAlEs PATENTS the upper conveyor inclining upwardly and down- Number Name Date wardly from the standard when the walkway is 1,558,014 Jaenicke Oct. 20, 1925 extended outwardly in fruit-picking position, and 1,960,355 Tamini H May 29, 1934 means extending the full length of the walk- 2,321,387 Jackson June 8, 1943 way and connected to the valve handle to control 10 2,428,184 Swindler Sept. 30, 194 the movement of the piston rod. 2,450,152 Miller Sept. 28, 1948 IRA D. CARDIFF. 2,450,812 Ray Oct. 5, 1948 2,564,020 Mengel Aug. 14, 1951 

